Patient Engagement Trends 2021

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT TRENDS 2021 Patients are embracing digital technologies to connect, communicate, and engage with providers.

Table of Contents Introduction

03

The Shift to Digital Engagement

04

Benefits of Digital Engagement

05

Key Patient Engagement Trends

06

What Industry Experts Are Saying

11

Conclusion

12

About zHealthEHR

13

References

13

PATIENT ENGAGEMENT TRENDS 2021

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Introduction Engaging patients proactively helps to achieve positive patient outcomes and is a must for practice growth.

Patient engagement is a valuable tool for any practice. Amid ever-evolving consumer expectations and rapid technological advancements, engaging patients has become an even higher priority.

Patient are constantly connected to the Internet and their mobile devices.

They want to engage with their provider’s practice on terms that are convenient for them.

Patients want practices to treat them as valuable consumers rather than just numbers. They look for practices that offer customized and convenient services and are accessible from anywhere and anytime.

When patients are well-informed and involved in their care, they have greater satisfaction in the healthcare services and tend to adhere to their treatment plans.

Consumers make decisions on when and where to seek treatment based on convenience, affordability, and reputation.¹

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The Shift to Digital Patient Engagement In today’s digital age, modern consumers demand instant access, convenience, comfort, transparency, privacy, and personalized care. Practices need to meet these expectations of patients to drive engagement and provide value-based care.

A practice can improve the level of patient engagement by giving patients the digital tools, information, and ability to actively participate in their care decisions.

The growing dependance on technological advances among providers and patients has led to the rise of fully integrated practice management software solutions. The integrated practice management software keep practices connected to

Expectations for digital capabilities are on the rise among patients.

patients’ needs while automating the entire practice management workflow.

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Digital Patient Engagement Benefits How Top Performing Practices Are Benefitting from Digital Tools

Successful practices that utilize patient engagement tools and integrated EHR and practice automation software are able to:

COMMUNICATE EFFICIENTLY WITH PATIENTS

INCREASE PATIENT-FLOW AT THEIR PRACTICES

REDUCE NO-SHOWS AND MISSED APPOINTMENTS

IMPROVE PATIENT SATISFACTION

IMPROVE ONLINE REPUTATION

INCREASE VALUE-BASED OUTCOMES

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Key Patient Engagement Trends Key patient engagement trends indicate that patients’ expectations for convenience, affordability, and quality care are redefining the way they engage with practices.

Pre-Appointment 75% of patients search online before booking an appointment with a practice. And when they find a provider on their mobile device, they book an appointment with that provider. 44% of patients book an appointment with a practice if they find it through their mobile phone.²

40%

44%

When patients feel more in control, they are more satisfied with the healthcare services. Appointment scheduling is one of the touchpoints where consumers expect practices to provide a digital experience. 40% of patients would consider switching providers for online scheduling.³

Tip for Practices Online scheduling provides much more convenience to the patient. It enhances the efficiency of the office as the front staff does not have to attend to phone calls and answer patient queries. Providers can start using online appointment booking portal to make their practices available for appointment scheduling, 24/7.

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Pre-Appointment Cont.

70%

of patients say they are more likely to choose a provider that offers reminders for follow-up care via email to text.⁴

Younger Americans and millennials are embracing digital tools over traditional healthcare services. They tend to use email or text messages to communicate with providers.

60%

Patients would rather fill out intake forms from their homes using a patient portal than filling them out at the practice while waiting to see the provider.

of patients want to share their healthcare through a digital format.⁵

Providing the same information over and over again is not only inconvenient for consumers but it is an inefficient process for practices. Sixty percent of provider practices that use digital patient intake systems said the tool helped them reduce overhead costs associated with paper patient intake forms and focus more on the patient experience.

Tip for Practices With integrated patient portal and EHR systems, all the documents and assessments are automatically submitted to a centralized database, which is accessible by the provider and staff members, thereby enhancing attentive and personalized care.

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During Appointment Technology is playing an indispensable role in paving the path for better patient experience. When a patient arrives at a practice, they want three things - digital check-in, quality care, and reduced wait time.

To provide consistency in patient engagement, successful practices are making the shift to digital solutions in the waiting rooms.

1. Wait Time: 43% of patients feel frustrated when the wait time hit the 20 minute mark.⁶ Practices that fail to address wait-time frustrations stand to lose up to 48% of their patient base in a year.⁷

83%

Being told in advance the total wait time

83%

Being notified via text or phone if wait time is more than 30-min

67% Free Wi-Fi in the waiting room

56%

Television in the waiting room

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

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During Appointment Cont.

2. Self-check-in kiosks: Digital check-in empowers patients to manage their own appointments. They can check-in themselves through a frontdesk kiosk without having to interact with the staff.

This gives your patients more control and saves your staff’s time.

3. Quality Care: The context within which quality, patientcentered care can be provided at any practice revolves around: Faster delivery of appropriate care Greater coordination among staff Emphasis on patients and their needs It becomes easier to deliver quality care faster and coordinate with all staff with practice management software.

Tip for Practices Invest in patient scheduling software to track patient appointments and check-ins and assign rooms.

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Post-Appointment Sending post-appointment feedback surveys or messages help patients share their experiences and enable practices to get insights into how patients perceive their services.

86% of top-performing practices send patient feedback surveys

86%

after every visit.⁸

01

Impact of Patient Reviews Patient feedback posted as reviews online can have a growing influence on providers’ reputations and ability to attract new patients.

02

Patients Read Reviews

71% of surveyed patients use online reviews as the very first step to finding a new practice.⁹

03

4 or 5-Star Reviews Matter The online reputation of a practice is the first impression for new patients. A good number of 4-star and 5-star reviews attract many potential patients.

43% of patients would go out of their insurance network for a provider with favorable reviews.¹⁰ PATIENT ENGAGEMENT TRENDS 2021

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What Industry Experts Are Saying Patient engagement efforts must center on ‘what patients want’. However, the patient engagement trends indicate that providers need the support of practice automation to provide the services at the right time, at the right cadence, and via the preferred digital channels.

1.

"The most important applications of AI and automation in patient engagement are the ones that place an emphasis on personalization, enabling care teams to tailor patient interactions based on the individual's state and preferences.”

Rick Halton, vice president of product and marketing at Lumeon

2.

“Companies need to invest people, time and money now to build on this momentum to expand and enhance the tools and platforms they use to communicate with and provide care for patients. But technology is not enough, as companies must also continue to engage patients directly to deliver on expectations.”

Stuart Henderson, global Life Sciences lead for Accenture

3.

Today, practices need to automate the entire customer journey from online appointments, digital check-in, automated notes, and insurance billing to online reviews and much more in order to engage patients and retain them. Automation intelligence will help practices to bring efficiency, provide greater satisfaction, and increase revenue numbers.”

Sukhi Singh, CEO and founder of zHealthEHR

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Conclusion Providers looking to come out as champions in the healthcare industry need to shift their focus toward patient engagement technologies, while creating seamless digital experience for patients.

Online Scheduling

Appointment Technologies

Practices must offer: An online booking portal At-home intake forms

Patients want practices to: Reduce wait times Provide digital check-in

Feedback Automation

Online Reputation

Post-appointment feedback process automation: Send text for feedback Automate review process

Online reputation matters for both practices and patients: Patients read reviews More reviews, more patients

As patient preferences are changing, providers must adapt and consider using patient engagement technologies to stay ahead of the digital shift.

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About zHealthEHR zHealthEHR is all-in-one practice management software for chiropractors and physical therapists. Practices can automate patient scheduling and intake paperwork, create SOAP notes, manage billing and claims, all while attracting new patients with five star reviews on Google & Yelp on autopilot – all with one simple practice management software. Request a free demo today.

References 1.https://www.accenture.com/_acnmedia/pdf-94/accenture-2019-digital-health-consumer-survey.pdf

2. https://hs.healthgrades.com/insights/bridging-the-expectation-gap

3. https://hs.healthgrades.com/insights/bridging-the-expectation-gap

4. https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/health/todays-consumers-reveal-future-healthcare

5. https://patientengagementhit.com/news/considering-consumerism-in-healthcare-in-a-post-covid-world

6 & 7. https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/reducing-patient-wait-times/

8. https://info.intelichart.com/blog/why-patient-engagement-requires-a-platform

9 & 10. https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/how-patients-use-online-reviews/

Contact zHealthEHR, Inc. +1 (800) 674-2908

www.zhealthsoftware.com sales@zhealthehr.com

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